Preaching for the Long Haul

Disclaimer: This is NOT my next sermon series
no matter how creative! 

Our group of faithful seekers took a bit of a break this week. Instead of pondering the text for Sunday and seeking to find ourselves in it, we looked at preaching in general. The ostensible reason was simple. I needed some help in planning for the long season of “ordinary time.” That’s the season in the church year that falls between Pentecost and Advent.

When this church year began last December, I had committed to following the lectionary in order to see just what disciplines lectionary preaching could instill in me. But when you hit “ordinary time,” the challenge mounts. Yes – there are two choices for ordinary time. One that works through the Gospel assigned for the year – this year it’s Matthew – and one that works through major portions of the Hebrew Scriptures. So – do the saints of Seneca Presbyterian Church want to listen to Matthew or Genesis and Exodus for twenty long weeks? If you seek to break up that long stretch, how to you break away from a story and then come back to it? Aren’t you going to miss major pieces of it?  I hope you see the preacher’s dilemma.

One of the reasons I enjoy meeting with the faithful seekers each week is that they keep me grounded in reality. As fascinating as the patriarchal and matriarchal narratives of Genesis are, the faithful worshipper in the pew isn’t really interested in JEDP. (That’s seminary jargon for the source narratives underlying the Torah texts of Hebrew Scripture.) It’s not at all surprising that our conversation this past week turned instead toward “series preaching.” Isn’t that a good option for the summer, we thought.

So we began speaking of the questions that touch our lives, particularly as a congregation full of “over sixty-somethings.” How do we find joy and purpose in later life? What happens to our lives when our relationships with our children change? Are we ready to be the ones who need to receive instead of give – especially when many of us are still the ones giving and caring for our own parents? Is there a clear moment when those roles reverse? How can those who have always been the ones ready to help become the ones asking for it? And how can the ones who are accustomed to receiving be ready to give?

Is it any wonder that we are also fascinated by heaven and what we can or cannot know about what comes after this life?

We did not come up with any definitive plans for preaching during ordinary time. But still the conversation was a blessing. First of all, I am reminded that preaching really matters. It can offer us not only understanding and faith, but also wisdom for living our lives faithfully. Secondly, it gave me wonderful food for thought about what is important for at least this small group of “my people.” Yes- it left me with a great challenge. How do you preach effectively in ways that truly touch lives? The Holy Spirit has to help, taking feeble words and enabling them to be heard.

But you can also help me. What sermons have you heard that touched you or gave you new direction? How did it happen? How can it happen again?